The Mameugang Tradition in Aceh, Binding the Longing to Return to One's Hometown
At around 04:45 WIB on Thursday (19/3) in the early hours, Ghina Zuhairan hurriedly woke up for suhoor while preparing various items or necessities in her rented room in the Jeulingke area, Kecamatan Syiah Kuala, Kota Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh Province.
A backpack and a handheld bag were already filled with clothes and items considered important or sufficient for about a week of Eid al-Fitr holiday in 1447 H/2026 AD. The motorcycle’s fuel had been filled the day before.
The medical student at Syiah Kuala University (USK) in Aceh quickly ate suhoor with a slice of white bread and two glasses of plain water. Then she prepared herself while waiting for the time of Subuh prayer, which was only a dozen minutes away.
The young doctor, currently interning at Zainoel Abidin General Hospital (RSUZA), wanted to go home to Woe U Gampoeng (return to the village) to enjoy the mameugang day (the traditional day of eating meat or vegetable dishes with meat) together with her parents and family. Then to celebrate the beauty of Eid al-Fitr 1447 H in her birthplace.
“My mother and father are very precious in this life. They are the energy to achieve the future, the light in silent darkness. Far from the hustle and bustle of traffic jams, vast rice fields stretch out, I miss my hometown where we were born. I want to hear the melodious call of my mother in the kitchen while cooking mameugang meat.
This heart always remembers you because the hometown is part of my life story,” thus partly expressed Ghina Zuhairan to Media Indonesia on Thursday (19/3).
In the westernmost province of Indonesia, known as the Veranda of Mecca, Mameugang and Eid are like two inseparable sides of a coin. This is a blend of tradition and religion that holds many meanings.
Mameugang, or in other words megang, is a hereditary religious tradition where the child who has successfully grown into an adult buys mameugang meat for their mother and father. The wealthy share alms with the poor. This cultural heritage tradition is carried out two days before Ramadan, two days before Eid al-Fitr, and two days before entering Eid al-Adha.
Even in the era of the Aceh Sultanate under Sultan Iskandar Muda from 1607-1635 AD, the poor, orphans, and other disadvantaged people were given mameugang meat and cloth for Eid clothes. Even though they had fasted for a month, on the day of happiness mameuhang, everyone could taste the deliciousness of buffalo or beef curry.
Eating meat dishes or breaking the fast together with the family is not only an opportunity to share joy, but also an opportunity to meet with equal social status.
The desire to enjoy the mameugang tradition is not only a tradition to welcome Ramadan, to honour Eid al-Fitr, or a habit in anticipating Eid al-Adha. But it also builds the religious character of the educated generation from the Veranda of Mecca wherever they are.
“My mother is in the village. I really miss her cooking served every day. It’s been 4 years studying in Jember, every time Eid comes I always can’t go home. Sometimes the holiday time is very short or due to limited costs. I really miss gathering with family like other friends. I’ve wanted to visit relatives and childhood friends for a long time, but it never happens,” recounted Teuku Khairil Akli, an eighth-semester student at the Faculty of Economics and Business, State University of Jember (UNEJ), East Java, originally from Krueng Seumideuen, Pidie, Aceh.
Muhammad Jundi Rabbani, a final-semester student at Sakarya University, Turkey, told Media Indonesia that he has been away from his hometown in Sigli, Pidie Regency, for seven years. Because he hasn’t seen his mother’s face and his father’s wrinkled face directly for so long, for Eid al-Fitr 1447 H this time, he has to bear an overwhelming longing.
The longing peaks most on Thursday in the early hours, precisely when in Aceh the first mameugang day takes place and the next day continues with the second mameugang.
“I’ve been in Turkey for 7 years, but for some reason this year the longing for Aceh feels so suffocating. Especially when remembering the Mameugang moments. Here the atmosphere is calm, but in the village, Mameugang is like a ‘fun war’,” said Muhammad Jundi Rabbani, the hafidh of 30 juz, who is studying in the Ilahiyat department in Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s country.
The son of the couple Nur Ainun and Abdullah AR misses the mameugang habit in Aceh of waking up at dawn, then going to the market that is extraordinarily crowded just to hunt for fresh beef. The sounds of traders calling out to each other and rows of hanging meat are truly characteristic that don’t exist in Sakarya, Turkey.
Returning home, the kitchen immediately smells of spices from sie reuboh (boiled spiced meat) or rendang. Tired from cooking, but the joy is extraordinary because of eating a big meal together with the family. On Eid day it’s also different. Here, Eid al-Fitr feels like it passes quickly.
“I miss walking to the mosque in Aceh while hearing the echoing takbir everywhere. I also miss sitting in the living room, eating Eid cakes while chatting casually with neighbours and relatives who come and go.
Seven years have indeed made me accustomed to life in Turkey, but honestly, nothing can replace the ‘warmth’ of Eid in Aceh,” added Jundi.
Jundi admitted that in his life, it feels like something is missing if the day doesn’t hear the bustle of the meat market and doesn’t smell the distinctive homemade cooking. Moreover, the young man who has been studying abroad in the country neighbouring Iran now receives daily information about the tensions between the US-Israel and the land of the Mullahs.
A similar sentiment was expressed by Aulia Saiful Hadi, an alumnus of Prasetiya Mulya University, Tangerang, Banten. According to Aulia, the most unbearable longing is the atmosphere of Meugang Day.
The teenager from Reubee, Pidie Regency, Aceh, revealed that Mameugang is not just about eating meat, but a symbol of togetherness and respect for parents. There is an extraordinary warmth.